We like Line 6 – well, we would – we’ve got a Variax 500, a POD 2 and a GuitarPort. The TonePort is another little box of tricks that has one feature everybody loves – two real old fashioned analog VU meters. They’re not simple hard-wired ones – you pick and choose what they show. Cute.

Anyway, now Line 6 have taken the same idea, and attached a keyboard to it. The TonePort is a guitar and bass effects unit, with some vocal microphone modelling thrown in, and the ability to record all that. Now, they’ve added a full size keyboard, with bending, and it can record the lot. It doesn’t sound like it has a drum machine, but I’d be kind of surprised if that wasn’t available in the software – it is for the GuitarPort.

It’s not available yet, unfortunately – due out in the autumn/fall. Mind you, if it follows the same timescale as the WorkBench did, it could be years yet 😉

It sounds just about perfect for dabblers like us – you get a bunch of effects for your guitar, you can plug a bass in too if you have or get one, it can handle anything you’re likely to need for vocal stuff, plus you get a MIDI keyboard controller thrown in too. If you want the best keyboard, this probably isn’t it, and it probably isn’t the best value you can get in guitar effects boxes, but it’s just about the only thing around that can do all of that, and record everything too, so you can share what you’re learning with the world. A dabbler’s dream box.

Oh, and if you’re a Line 6 fan like us, check the comments in the Music Thing post – someone has the story of how they got their name.